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North Greene waiting on test results to determine if mold was found in school

By Nick Kovatch on December 6 at 1:26pm

North Greene School District officials are awaiting test results of a substance that could be mold found at North Greene Elementary School.

Les Stevens is superintendent of the school district.

“Someone found a spot on the ceiling and we reported to the Department of Labor who told us they’d be out at the end of October, I think,” says Stevens. “This was in September when we contact them, I believe. My principal there, Mark Scott, made the call.”

“They didn’t show up,” says Stevens. “We kept calling and they finally said ‘We’ll be there December 3rd’ and they were there on December 3rd. They took a swab and they’ve taken it back to their lab. Depending on the speed of their lab work, between two and four weeks from now, we should have a report as to whether it’s mold or not and what we need to do in either case.”

He says the material was found in an isolated spot in a classroom. Published reports at the Jacksonville Journal-Courier indicated tests on the substance were done at White Hall Elementary. Stevens says the substance was found at North Greene Elementary in Roodhouse.

Stevens says if the material is mold, the Department of Labor has indicated it should be an easy cleanup using water and bleach.

“Again, we don’t have the final report, so we don’t know for sure [if it’s mold],” says Stevens. “But they’re not too concerned about it and neither am I, but we are addressing it. We addressed it from the very beginning.”

Stevens says there is no immediate health risk to students or staff in the building.